Pony Express Riders hosting show to benefit Camp Sunnyside

The Jasper County Pony Express Horse Show and Royalty Contest will take place this Sunday, April 21, at the Jasper County Fairgrounds. Participants can bring their own horses and enroll in a number of competitions ranging from showmanship to barrel and pole racing.

The entry booth for the day’s events will open at 8 a.m. and the show will begin at 9 a.m. The cost is $4 per class that a participant enrolls in, or $20 for the entire day of activities excluding the royalty and jackpot events.

The event is open to the public, and anyone may come to watch the competition free of charge. Jasper County Pony Express will be accepting freewill donations, as well. Food concessions will also be available on the fairgrounds for visitors and participants.

Among the day’s events are the royalty contests, in which young participants will vie to be named King or Queen of Jasper County’s Pony Express. The Queen of the event will move on to take part in the royalty contest at the Iowa State Fair in August.

Proceeds from the event go back into the Pony Express program and also go to benefit Easter Seals Camp Sunnyside, an 80-acre camp in Des Moines that offers camping opportunities to 1,200 children with disabilities each year through its residential and day camp programs.